The sun just came out after several days of rain in the DC area. Perfect for a photo shoot today with some lovely ladies who have volunteered to model our necklaces. Feel we need to put photos on the website of "real people" wearing the necklaces, so that the visitor can realize on beautiful these necklaces look on people of all ages. (I have to say "people" since young men also buy beads for themselves, as "surfer" beads and also just as part of the jewelry than men increasingly wear.)
The Photo Gallery will be part of a number of new changes to the site, including this blog! (Am including two previous My Space blogs, in case you missed the chicken!) One of the changes will be to make it easier for visitors to understand the value of donations, in addition to purchasing necklaces. Necklace sales, although essential, provide only a portion of the funds we need to support our beaders.
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( 3 / 331 )We celebrate the addition of 20 child mothers to the Paper to Pearls family! The group is being sheltered by the wonderful Miriam Awachange. Miriam had provided initial training in beading to the girls and was selling their work, as best she could, throughout Gulu. A young man working locally in support of child mothers brought the group to our attention, and we immediately offered to make them part of Paper to Pearls. We gave them 10 days of refresher training during August 2008 to refine their skills, and are eager to buy their work and include it in our inventory.
The child mother phenomenon is a major problem in northern Uganda. With a ceasefire in place, hundreds of abducted girls are returning from the bush, most with babies, although they are often children themselves. The majority are ostracized within the camp communities, relegated to living on the margins with only each other for support. They are thought to be “dirty” and their children to have “bad blood” since they were fathered by rebels. All desperately need education and a source of income.
We hope to be able to include other child mothers in our program and to work closely with other organizations that are providing support.
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( 3 / 298 )As of this writing, Paper to Pearls is a finalist for a My Space Impact award in the category of Poverty Relief. This represents a significant cash award ($10,000) plus featured placement on My Space for a month.
What an amazing and unexpected opportunity, that would mean so much to the women of northern Uganda, especially since it would enable us substantially expand our program. I'm thinking at this moment about our newest group of beaders―20 child mothers in the Gulu municipality. A wonderful local woman, Miriam Awachange, is currently supporting them and their children, and has brought them the basics of beading. Now it's our turn. Over the next ten days we will give them in-depth training to develop and refine their skills so that we can incorporate their work into the Paper to Pearls inventory.
The child mother situation in northern Uganda is acute. These are young girls who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, used as sex slaves or wives and now, with children of their own, are slowly moving out of the bush and trying to return home. Much of the time, however, they are ostracized because they are "dirty" and their children have "bad blood", and have to exist at the margins of their camp communities.
Women like Miriam are a Godsend for these girls, and we are thrilled to be able to support her. The girls need education for themselves and their children; and they sorely need income. Miriam has been selling their necklaces as best she could on the streets of Gulu. Through Paper to Pearls they will have a true market and can begin earning the income that will begin transforming their lives and those of their children.
We have determined that behind every Paper to Pearls beader there are 30 people who benefit from their efforts. The My Space award would enable us to train approximately 135 new beaders, among them many child mothers. Thus the total number in the community who would benefit comes to over 4,000. And this because of the initiative and efforts of a growing number of women who are creating items of beauty where once there was despair.
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( 3 / 320 )On October 14th, Barbara will be at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA to present the Paper to Pearls jewelry and talk about the project. The African Caribbean Association is hosting the event.
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( 2.9 / 278 )Paper to Pearls is taking over education, one school at a time! In early February, The Recycle Club at the George C. Round elementary school in Manassas, Virginia took on the challenge of learning what it is like to be one of our Ugandan beaders. Starting from scratch, they learned to properly cut magazine paper, roll it into beads and create a necklace design. Having learned the technique, they then became Paper to Pearls spokespersons (spokeschildren?), creating a sales display and offering a selection of our own beaders' necklaces to friends, family, and teachers. So what did they learn? First, that Ugandan women have found a beautiful way to recycle old paper. Second, that it takes a lot of time, technique, and talent to make the beautiful necklaces. Finally, this project drove home how much $15 — the price of a single strand necklace — means to a woman who just wants to support her family.
;)
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